In its celebration of Pride ― not only during Pride Month, but year-round ― and its commitment to building a more inclusive tomorrow, EFFEN Vodka, a premium and smooth vodka brand, launched EFFEN Vodka 2021 Pride 365 Bottle in collaboration with the nonprofit organization Allies in Arts.
EFFEN Vodka commissioned Chicago-based, LGBTQQIA2S artist and street muralist Sam Kirk to design the bottle, which celebrates the Black and LGBTQQIA2S communities and highlights that each day is an opportunity to live loud, vibrant and proud.
"We're huge fans of Sam's work and thrilled with how the Pride 365 bottle came out," said Ivan Hidalgo, senior marketing director of regional brands at Beam Suntory, in a statement. "There's no doubting the immense obstacles and barriers the LGBTQQIA2S and Black communities continue to face, and we are honored to join forces with Allies in Arts and Sam to create the 2021 Pride 365 Bottle not only showcasing the Pride colors, but really supporting the underrepresented artists in these communities."
Since 2018, EFFEN Vodka has created limited-edition Pride bottles to celebrate self-expression, support diversity and champion the LGBTQQIA2S community, including supporting organizations like Outfest. This year, EFFEN Vodka is partnering with Allies in Arts to bolster its mission of empowering creative voices and providing fair-paid work for artists who identify as womxn, BIPOC and LGBTQQIA2S ― all of whom are underrepresented individuals in creative industries.
"We are very grateful for EFFEN's partnership in support of our mission to promote and hire artists who are women, BIPOC and queer," said Kyle Lasky, Allies in Arts designer and EFFEN Vodka decal artist.
Further demonstrating EFFEN Vodka's ongoing commitment to fostering self-expression, the brand has commissioned two members of the Allies in Arts community to create two sets of vinyl bottle decals for fans to decorate their EFFEN Vodka bottles at home. The collections include the Boldly Black collection, illustrated by queer nonbinary Afro-Latinx artist Acacia Rodriguez, as well as the Pride 365 collection, designed by trans artist and activist Kyle Lasky. Both collections will be available alongside the bottle at retail in the coming months.
The EFFEN Vodka 2021 Pride 365 Bottle now is available nationwide for a suggested retail price of $21.99 for a 750-ml bottle. For every Pride 365 Bottle made, EFFEN is making a donation to Allies in Arts to support the nonprofit's mission of amplifying the voices of underrepresented artistic creatives.